A little perspective on the Social Security 'crisis'

Here are some important facts about Social Security that Jeffrey Leibman asks us to keep in mind in this months Harvard magazine.

• In 2050 the system will have "enough revenues to pay 73% of scheduled benefits."
• The amount of these benefits will be "larger in inflation adjusted terms than the benefits received by today’s retirees."
• The projected shortfall is only 1.7% of GDP.
• This amount is significantly smaller than the projected shortfall in Medicare -- heard Bush talk about the health care ‘crisis’ lately?
• The shortfall is about a 1/3 of the current shortfall in the Federal budget.
• "Returning the tax code to what it was President Clinton left office (i.e. before the Bush tax cuts) would produce more than enough extra revenue to cover the gap in Social Security."